The dawning of the new millennium coincided with a new chapter in the career of John Hiatt. After a quarter century of releasing records on major labels—five in all—he kicked off a now-13-year run as an independent artist, recording 8 albums (a pair of albums with Vanguard before moving to New West, his label home for more than a decade). These albums contain unflinching reflections on the bad old days, weighed against his latter-day front-porch serenity. The collection features 17 songs, at least two from each of the 8 albums released between 2000-2012 and the unreleased song "Here To Stay" featuring Joe Bonamassa on guitar.